No mercy...
With the release of season four of Cobra Kai, Netflix has gone crazy in the past few days. Everyone has had some time to watch it, so I have uploaded my review and now this ranking. Season four brought some big surprises, familiar faces, and a lot of fun comedic and dramatic moments. It left fans eagerly awaiting season five, so, to hold you over until then, read some of my Cobra Kai content! I am more mixed on this show than other people, so I think my ranking won't match yours. That said, here is my ranking of all four seasons of Cobra Kai.
4. Season 2
Season two of Cobra Kai gave me everything I don't like about the show. The cringiest moments of the show are in this season. Most of the characters aren't likable. The dynamic between Daniel and Johnny isn't fun. They frame Kreese as a good guy for most of the season, so, for most of the season, there isn't a threat. And the characters that were our heroes in season one (Miguel, Hawk, etc.) turn more villainous here. It makes it so that there's no one to root for. However, the finale is awesome. The school fight, while over-the-top, is actually pretty great. It's incredibly intense and capped off with Miguel's horrific fall over the balcony. I can't say I love this season, but I don't hate it either. I land almost right in the middle.
3. Season 1
Season one was a fun return to the Karate Kid franchise. Obviously, it's nice to see Daniel LaRusso again after thirty years. But the standout here is the return of Johnny Lawrence, who was a villain when we saw him in 1984. However, now, he's a drunk loser that has screwed up his life. When he meets Miguel Diaz, though, the new Karate Kid, he begins to turn his life around. This season doesn't have the wild tension that the later seasons have, but it's a really fun intro to the current state of things in the world of The Karate Kid.
2. Season 3
Season three took a turn to the darker and more intense side of Cobra Kai. This season really builds up the rivalries between our heroes and villains: Sam and Tory, Robby and Miguel, Demetri and Hawk, etc. This season poses Cobra Kai as the main threat. Kreese is extremely dangerous. Both Johnny and Daniel know this, but cannot get past their decades-long rivalry. However, it all comes to a head when Cobra Kai breaks into Daniel's house and there's a huge fight. There's tons of payoff here, whether it's Hawk's redemption, the fight between Johnny and Daniel and Kreese, or Johnny and Daniel finally teaming up. It still has the cringe factor of Cobra Kai, but the bad stuff is outshined by a lot of good in this scene.
1. Season 4
Season four may have had cringy moments here and there. It might've been a little overstuffed. But this is honestly one of the best seasons of a TV show that I have ever seen. It made the Cobra Kai characters sympathetic. Tory and Robby were made anti-heroes instead of villains. Sam and Miguel became a little darker. The Johnny-Daniel dynamic was better than ever. All of this greatness was given a cherry on top with the petrifying return of Terry Silver, who was scary as hell in this season and will return as the main villain of Cobra Kai going forward. I loved this season and I cannot wait for season five.